I have a new stainless barrel / laminate stock Ruger 10 22 that was bought new without box about 5 or so years ago.
Just now got around to putting a scope on it and trying it out. The stock factory trigger is horrible. I'm not going to spend the $ for a match grade trigger but surely there is some poor boy way to improve this POS trigger. It is never going to be a match gun - just a hunting and shooting gun. But I have sort of got used to nice triggers on my rifles and I'm not going to be happy with this stock trigger, I'm sure it will get better with more rounds through it but at todays prices for that much ammo, I could probably pay for damn Timney trigger which I'm not going to do. I actually don't even want to spend the $120 or whatever for a Volquartsen kit. Surely there is some way to make big improvement on this factory trigger without spending a lot of $$?? Any suggestions? thanks...jon

Get on rimfire central and read the sticky’s on 10/22 tips and tricks. There’s several post with pictures on how to’s

But nothing compares to a kidd trigger..

I've sent a couple of 10/22 triggers off to Brimstone and they come back SWEET. They have 3 tiers that range from about $50 to $100 if I remember correctly.

Kidd

Just put a Ruger BX trigger in mine. Definitely an improvement from factory but not as good as my aftermarket trigger for my ar or bolt gun

Kidd

Brimstone Tier 2. You're welcome

I’m having a hard time wrapping myself around this one Sir. For a “hunting/shooting” gun my kids have been deadly shooting minute of rabbit head. No need for any upgrade for a hunting trigger IMO. I’ve got several. Can cut holes out of paper with the factory trigger at normal hunting ranges. I’ve never shot a Rugger 22 that didn’t shoot well.

Man I'm gonna beg to differ. If you're used to precision rifles, the 10/22 is like shooting an ak-47 or sks...just super underwhelming. It shoots fine for hunting, but if you're target shooting at all then some basic, affordable upgrades make the gun much nicer to use. Green Mountain barrel for $120 and Brimstone Tier 2 trigger cut my group sizes a ton. Previously this thing was 1.5-2" at 50 yards on a good day....now it's .5" on average with some days much better than that.

I did mine myself because I like to learn but I did not save much money.

Since the OP doesn't want to spend $120 I doubt the $300 Kidd trigger is up his ally.

Haha, this is so true! That's why i always suggest for people looking for recommendations to list a budget.

That said, +1 for Brimstone. I have one tier 2 and 3 jobs done and like them both, but i would prefer to pay more for the tier 2 work.

i didnt know about kidd triggers until this post so im getting me a kidd 2 stage thanks for the info

I got a BX trigger when they first came out. My experience equals yours. It's an upgrade but I'd like more.

Do it yourself or Brimstone. My 10/22 trigger sent to them over a decade back was my first trigger job ever. I was blown away at the difference. Again, you can do it yourself too.

Yep

I've tried the BX. I didn't think it was barely any better than factory. I originally ordered the Brimstone Tier 3 and it was a definite improvement, but it was double-tapping. So I sent it back and they fixed that and upgraded me to a Tier 2 (I just paid the cost difference from 3 to 2). The Tier 2 is everything I wanted in the 10/22 trigger, and I'm something of a trigger snob. It's $80-ish if I recall...maybe $100? Well worth it.

Thanks Everyone for all the replies, suggestions and input!
skinnerback, to try and explain a little better, it's not actually the accuracy that's bothering me. I know that sounds goofey but it's just the way it feels comparing it to my other rifle triggers. I haven't shot my 10/22 very much at all yet. maybe 50-100 rds. I can do minute of coke can pretty easy offhand with it at around 25 yds. I studied on the trigger break some more since I posted my question. I would like to lighten it up some and get a little cleaner break if I can. But you are right, it is a hunting gun and I could be real happy with it except for I am used to shooting other rifles that have triggers which have spoiled me (also in hunting guns but for a bit larger critters). On those, I like the trigger to not be a limiting factor on exactly where the bullet hits. I'm not expecting that or wanting to spend that much $ on this 10/22.

As others have said, Brimstone for money is nice. My only experience with them was buying a new BX trigger group and sending to them to be reworked. It came back with a crisp, clean, light break. I'm going to put it in a heavy barrel gun when I finish that build and put a stock BX trigger in the rifle it's currently sitting in.


If you think the stock ruger trigger is bad, you should feel the trigger on my AMT Lightning, it's horrendous.

Let's order some Ruger MKII parts from Volquartsen for it then. I have their guts in my MKIII 22/45 and it's very nice.